


The Other Side

by nochick_fics



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist (Anime 2003)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon, Alternate Universe - Character Swap, M/M, One-Sided Attraction, Short One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-13
Updated: 2020-06-13
Packaged: 2021-03-04 03:33:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 510
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24696865
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nochick_fics/pseuds/nochick_fics
Summary: Ed's dreams take him to a whole different world. And to him.
Relationships: Edward Elric/Roy Mustang
Comments: 6
Kudos: 30





	The Other Side

**Author's Note:**

  * For [anotherFMAfan](https://archiveofourown.org/users/anotherFMAfan/gifts).



> Being a raging 2003 anime fan, I've always been fascinated by Earth Ed (episodes 49 & 50). Since the series never really explored him in detail, I decided to do it myself. I might write more stories for him down the road, if I ever have the time.

Edward Elric slipped between the cool sheets of his small bed and nestled into its comfort with a heavy sigh. He greeted every day by counting down the hours until he could sleep again. And not just because of the state of the country and the war that currently ravaged it, though there was that. He often mused as of late that an air raid siren was the only song he would be able to recall when, and if, the fighting ever ceased, and that the sky looked oddly empty without Zeppelins breaking through the walls of clouds to terrorize innocent people. No, the reason he longed to sleep, and more specifically to dream, was so that he could see _him_ again… Roy Mustang... whoever he was.

The dreams were generally confusing, as some dreams tended to be, and yet Ed could still remember certain details about them that were especially strange. For instance, in this dream world, he had a metal arm and leg. The sensation and weight of them were so vivid that oftentimes the first thing the teen would do upon waking was verify that his own very real flesh appendages were still very real. In his dreams, he was an alchemist--which was crazy since alchemy wasn't a real thing--and always kept going on about something called Equivalent... Interchange. Or Exchange. Something like that. The specifics always faded away the moment he opened his eyes. The only thing that didn't fade away, ever, was Roy.

Roy Mustang was an alchemist too, and Ed's superior. He was smug, vain, arrogant... and beautiful. Dream Ed always made a big, dramatic show about professing his hatred of the older man, but if that was really the case, then why did his dreams always end with a flushed face, pounding heartbeat, and, more often than not, a raging erection (one that usually needed to be remedied before he could face his father for the day)? 

Obviously, none of this dream business was really true, no matter how real it felt. How could it be? It wasn’t like there was some alternate universe out there that Ed was somehow accessing through his subconscious, some sort of gateway to a fabled other side, where everything he had ever known was turned on its head. There wasn’t another Edward Elric with artificial limbs and long hair (Ed rather liked his short hair, thank you very much), he didn’t have a brother named Al, he couldn’t clap things into existence, he wasn’t full of metal or whatever the hell people said about him that he could never remember after waking up, and Roy Mustang, that gorgeous, sexy bastard of a man, wasn’t real. And _that_ was the worst part of all. 

Ed yawned loudly and closed his eyes, contemplating his genuine affection for a man who didn’t exist. He gradually let go of all the fears and horrors of his world and fell into a deep sleep, seeking out the other. Eventually he found it. He found Roy. 

He smiled as he dreamed. 


End file.
